A 36-hour bandh against the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project crippled normal life and shut businesses in Arunachal's Upper Siang district.
Indigenous groups demanded an immediate halt to dam pre-feasibility surveys, withdrawal of security forces, and the release of detained anti-dam activists.
Protesters warned of intensified agitation over concerns regarding large-scale displacement and severe ecological impact in the Siang Valley.
Normal Life Hit In Arunachal's Upper Siang As Bandh Observed To Protest Against Hydropower Project
A 36-hour bandh called by local indigenous bodies paralyzes normal life in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district over opposition to the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project
Summary
Normal life was affected in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district on Monday with the closure of many schools, business establishments and markets as several organisations held demonstrations as part of a 36-hour bandh to protest against a proposed hydropower project.
Demonstrators burnt tyres at several places, while public transport such as buses remained off the roads in the district.
The Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum and Siang Upper Multipurpose Project Affected Area Youth Association called the 36-hour bandh in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts.
"The shutdown hit normal life in Upper Siang district, while East Siang was affected. However, there was no impact of the bandh in Siang," an official said.
The organisations called the shutdown to protest against the alleged non-fulfilment of their charter of demands, including the release of arrested demonstrators, withdrawal of security forces and suspension of the ongoing survey activities for the 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, a mega hydropower plant planned on the Siang river.
Upper Siang Deputy Commissioner Ashok Tajo told PTI, "Many government offices and schools are closed. Shops and business establishments remain closed. The bandh is mostly effective in Yingkiong town and Geku."
Siang Superintendent of Police Kamdam Sikhom said there was no impact of the bandh in the district as all government offices, shops, and schools are "functioning normally".
The project, envisioned as one of India's largest hydropower initiatives, has faced sustained opposition from sections of the indigenous Adi community, particularly residents of the proposed project-affected areas.
The opposition stems primarily from apprehensions over the submergence of ancestral villages, displacement, loss of agricultural land and forests, and the possible disruption of the community's traditional way of life.
The project has also assumed strategic significance for the Centre, which views it as important in the context of China's proposed massive hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, which enters India as the Siang.
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